The entire top echelon of Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich’s campaign resigned Thursday, a stunning mass exodus that left his bid for the GOP nomination in tatters. However, the former House speaker vowed to remain a candidate.

WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich’s campaign defections are just the latest tremor in a constantly shifting GOP presidential landscape that craves some steadiness as a big, early New Hampshire debate nears.

Rivals already were trying to poach Gingrich’s donors and top supporters Friday, even as the former House speaker said he would keep campaigning despite the resignations of his top advisers and entire Iowa paid staff. Party insiders eyed the likely entry of Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and a possible bid by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Mitt Romney’s decision to skip the Iowa straw poll in August, meanwhile, reinforced his image as a front-runner willing to pick his shots. And potential candidate Sarah Palin again lent a circus atmosphere to the entire GOP family when Alaska on Friday released thousands of pages of e-mails from her days as governor.

In short, it was a typical week in the GOP’s free-wheeling nominating process. The field is anything but set, and there is no clear picture of who will emerge to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012.

Gingrich spoke publicly Friday for the first time after the mass resignation of his top aides. Several of them said they were frustrated because he was devoting insufficient time to the nitty-gritty work of meeting and galvanizing supporters in early voting states such as Iowa.

Gingrich told reporters outside his suburban Virginia home that he was committed to campaigning “very intensely” for the White House. He attributed his aides’ departure to disagreements about strategy.

“There is a fundamental strategic difference between the traditional consulting community and the kind of campaign I want to run,” he said.

Gingrich received a vote of confidence from at least one high-profile backer: Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, his campaign chairman in his old home state.

“When the going gets rough, I don’t cut and run on my friends,” Deal said.

That comment took only a little of the sting from his predecessor’s jump from Gingrich’s campaign to that of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Sonny Perdue had been a national co-chairman for the Gingrich campaign.

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